Not A Day Goes By
by goldpiece
Summary: Followup to 'I'm Already There'.  Temperance struggles to believe that Booth is reaching out to her.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: As per Bella-Mi-Amore's request, this is a follow-up to I'm Already There. I certainly hoe you enjoy it and as always I look forward to your thoughts._

"He promised me that he'd always be here. He promised he wouldn't leave me. Why did he leave?" Temperance sat on a bench in the park, watching at a distance as Parker played catch with Drew. Her father sat next to her, one arm around her in a comforting gesture, trying to lend what little support he could to his daughter.

"Baby, there are certain things that are out of your control, and other people tend to fall into that category. He had no control over the drunk driver that hit him."

"Booth always wondered how I couldn't believe in a higher power, how the idea of a higher creator is ridiculous. If God does exist, then why did a good man like Booth have to be taken from here? He was taken from Parker and from me." With a sigh, she began to play with the delicate necklace charm she wore, a small string of sapphires in the shape of the dolphin constellation.

"Ah, but humans were given free will. No one made your mother or I do what we did except for us. Any damage we caused, we did to ourselves and others. Free will is a wonderful thing, but it can cause heartache as well."

"It's just not fair. I'll never see him again. I'll never be able to fight over the little things, or…" she stopped to fight the tears welling up in her eyes. In the past month she'd cried more than at any other time in her life and she wasn't going to again. As she sat, looking out at the life going on around her, a memory sprang to mind almost as a whisper on the wind.

"_Booth, I knew you'd back me up. I knew you wouldn't make a liar out of me."_

"_Yeah? How's that?"_

"_Because you want to go to heaven."_

"_But you don't believe in heaven."_

"_But you do."_

A gentle breeze blew over her, and she could almost feel the caress of fingers across her cheek, a gesture Booth so often employed. She brought a hand up to her face to touch the spot, but the feeling was gone.

"Honey, Booth was a man of faith. He believed truly in God and in heaven, and think of what that means. He was a good man, and he's in the presence of his God and happy. He's at peace."

"No, there is no such thing. He's gone and I'll never see him again."

"I used to believe that too, after your mother died. What I've come to find out is that she lets me know she's still around. It's in the little details. She used to do this thing…If I was reading the paper, or watching television, do you remember?"

"Yes. She used to walk up behind you and put her arms around your shoulders."

"Do you know that not a week goes by when I don't feel that? I know she's still looking out for me in her own way."

"That's ridiculous dad."

"Is it? All it takes is a little faith. You'll see. He'll let you know he's still there." Max patted her lag before standing up.

"Faith is an irrational belief."

"Faith is believing in something that rationality says is impossible. Just give it a try. You might be surprised by the results." With that, Max left her alone to think. She turned her gaze back onto Parker, Rebecca and Drew, wishing for the millionth time that Booth was here with her. A thought sprang to mind, something that Booth had told Parker before. _All you have to do is close your eyes and I'll be there with you._ Brennan had to admit, it was a nice thought.

XxXxX

She woke up from sleep the next morning, her brain a bit fuzzy. She'd dreamt he was there with her, holding her and whispering the words of love like he used to do. She rolled over and buried her head in the pillow, surprised to find his scent on her pillow. Brennan's heart began to pound. Rationally, she knew that the memory could recall not only images from the past, but could also do the same with scents, but this was really strong, almost as though he really were there with her.

She forced herself out of bed, trying to dismiss the crazy thoughts from her head. Booth wasn't there, and would never be there again. While rubbing her eyes to wake herself up a little bit more, she made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. The spray from the water felt good on her tired body, and helped wake her up as she shampooed her hair. She smiled as the water washed away all traces of the jasmine scented hair product. It was in the shower that Booth had first confessed his feelings for her.

_They were standing under the spray of the shower content to hold each other. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and his lips moved gently from her jaw line to her shoulder._

"_Mmmmm, Seeley," she sighed, adjusting her position in his arms. He nipped lightly at her shoulder before moving away and looking into her eyes._

"_Temperance, I love you so much I don't know what I'd do without you." She looked at him, unable to speak for a moment. His eyes met hers, hoping to get some type of response from her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him before breaking it and leaning in against him. "I will never leave you, you know that right?"_

"_Don't say that. Something could happen to you…"_

"_I swear that I will always be here for you. Nothing could keep me from you. I love you too much."_

Temperance turned off the water and reached for a towel to dry off as steam swirled through the bathroom. After drying off, she twisted her hair in a towel and looked up. There on the foggy mirror was a heart drawn on the surface.

"Booth," she whispered before sitting on the toilet seat. No, she thought, it couldn't be him. Maybe Parker had drawn it the last time he was at her apartment, but he hadn't been over since that night Booth called. She sat a moment longer, trying to wrap her mind around what she'd seen. Finally she looked back, but the heart was gone. The steam had cleared from the bathroom, and all evidence of the heart was gone.

Brennan made her way to the Jeffersonian, still trying to rationalize what she had seen. There had to be an explanation for the heart, but at the moment any answer eluded her. She honestly felt like she was going crazy. First his smell on the pillow, then the heart… She was going crazy that had to be the only answer.

"Sweetie, how are you doing?" Angela came into step with her as Brennan made her way to her office. It was the first time since the funeral she'd been to work, and she'd missed it.

"I think I'm losing my mind," she responded as they reached the room. With a sigh, she dropped onto her couch and closed her eyes.

"I highly doubt that. What makes you think you're going crazy?"

"This morning when I woke up, I could smell Booth on my pillow, and when I stepped out of the shower, there was a heart drawn into my mirror. It's ridiculous."

"It doesn't mean you're going crazy, hon. When Kurt died, I felt the same things. It was kind of comforting actually. It let me know he was still with me, you know?"

"I could understand maybe the smell on the pillow, but the heart? No. There's no way…"

"You know Dr. Brennan, some people believe that you can communicate in the afterlife through different means." Hodgins said as he entered her office. "Good to have you back, by the way."

"It's irrational to believe that someone can communicate after death. Death is the end, period." She didn't want to talk about this anymore. Angela could see her friend closing off, and stood up. She walked to the door and turned to have Hodgins leave with her.

"If you need anything, let me know, okay Bren?"

"I'll do that. Thanks Angela." Brennan offered a tight smile as the pair left her office. She could hear the activity in the lab. It seemed odd to her that the world could still go on while she was so lost. Her mind wandered to what Hodgins had said. Like it was possible for someone to contact anyone from the hereafter. There was no hereafter, but the idea was oh so tempting.

"Okay," she spoke out loud, feeling completely ridiculous, "Booth, if you're trying to let me know you're still here, then say my name." As she finished stating it, she felt goose bumps on her arm and realized that the sounds from the lab seemed to have ceased. It was creepy, but she would swear that she could feel him there, and then she heard it…

"Temperance."

_AN: Okay so I'm evil, but I couldn't resist. I know what you're all thinking, and you'll have to wait to see if it's what you think it is. Hope you enjoyed, and stick around for one more chapter._


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Okay guys, I'm hoping the lack of reviews is from no alerts as opposed to this story absolutely sucking. I don't beg for reviews, and I'm not going to now, but please let me know what you think. It means a lot especially in my hormonally driven pregnant state. Now, without further ado, the end of my little tale…_

"_Temperance."_

Brennan's heart sped up at the sound of the voice. No, it couldn't be him. She was at the funeral. Cullen had called her personally. There was no way… She slowly turned around, her eyes closed, afraid that when she opened them no one would be there. Even worse would be for him to actually be standing in that doorway. The deathly quiet of the lab seemed to confirm the latter for her. Finally there was no getting around it; she had to face whoever or whatever was there.

Slowly, almost painfully she opened her eyes. It was then her legs gave out on her as a strangled cry left her lips. He was there, sitting in a wheelchair, watching her with an overflow of emotions. She clutched at the air, trying to find something to hold her up as she looked at him. He was paler than she remembered, and he looked thinner, but it was definitely him. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words.

"Temperance, please say something."

"Seeley." She sank to the floor, unable to tell whether she was breathing or not. The only thing she knew was that he was there in her doorway. She watched as he struggled to stand up, grabbed a cane and made his way to her almost painfully. Wincing, he kneeled at her side and reached out, placing his had gently on her cheek. She reached up to touch him, trying to make sure he was real. "You're here. How?" Her voice broke as she locked her gaze on his. Neither noticed the group that had gathered in the doorway to her office.

"It's a long story, but maybe you could help me up?" He looked at her with a small smile to cover his grimace of pain. Brennan looked him over, taking in his stiff carriage, and the mask he was putting on for her. Something terrible had happened to him, that much was obvious. Before she could stand, two sets of hands were on the agent, pulling him carefully to his feet. He looked at both Hodgins and Zack with thanks as he adjusted his weight and leaned on his cane. The two scientists backed off as Angela and Cam remained in the doorway, still too shocked to say anything. After a moment's time, they left the pair alone in the office.

Shakily, Brennan stood and guided Booth to her couch, where he sat down gratefully. When he looked at her, she couldn't take it anymore. Her restraint was gone and she threw her arms around him, trying to be mindful of whatever injuries he had. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she didn't care. His arms wrapped around her, holding her to him, his own breath labored.

"You were dead. They told me…"

"Hey, shh, it's okay. I'm here now." He placed a gentle kiss to her hair and rocked her as much as his battered body would allow. After a few minutes, she pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath and looked at him as if her eyes were deceiving her.

"Cullen called me and told me you were killed by a drunk driver."

"Well, that's half right. My brake lines had been cut by the suspect I was looking for. When I realized it, I was going too fast to come to a safe stop. The impact…well I was dead for a few minutes. The FBI agent I was working with called in my status to Cullen before I'd been resuscitated."

"Then why didn't he tell me?" Booth reached over and grabbed her hand, gently caressing her knuckles as he continued on.

"I was in pretty bad shape. I had a serious head injury and a broken back. The FBI felt it was best for everyone to think that I had died, so they went on with the idea of the funeral. They figured if the suspect thought I was dead, he'd be cocky enough to brag and they were right."

"But why couldn't they tell me? I don't understand."

"Only one person was told and that was a next of kin."

"Obviously not Parker."

"No," he smiled sadly. "They told my father. The situation got worse for me. After the surgery on my back, I was put into a medically induced coma, but then didn't come out of it right away. My dad was informed and has been in Fargo with me the last three weeks."

"When did you get back?" She couldn't get enough of the sight of him. He was here with her and he was very much alive.

"Late last night, about two in the morning."

"Why didn't you…you did come over, didn't you?" She could see a faint bit of color on his cheeks and suddenly she knew. He had left his scent on her pillow, and he'd drawn the heart on her mirror.

"You looked so peaceful sleeping." She hit his arm then muttered an apology as he winced. "I left before you woke up because I didn't want to scare the bejesus out of you."

"It would have been wonderful to have opened my eyes to you." She looked at him with an earnest expression before leaning into him again. "Don't do that to me again."

"I told you once that I would never leave you. I meant it then and I still mean it. You've been the only thing that kept me fighting. Well, you and Parker."

"You could have had Cullen tell me when you came to."

"Maybe this is going to sound corny, but right now I don't care. I didn't want you to see if I couldn't walk under my own power."

"Who are you, Deborah Kerr?" Brennan let out a laugh and kissed him on the lips. "My FBI agent turned into a romantic."

"Well it worked for Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant, so why not us?"

"Yes, exactly. Why not us?"

_AN: Yes it's short, and no, I couldn't stop myself. I really did want to stick to my guns and have Booth stay dead, but gosh darn it, I just couldn't do it. Now with that, I hope I wasn't too hokey for you. If you're curious about the above actor reference, it's from An Affair to Remember, one of the great classic romances. If you haven't seen it, you should. Oh, and make sure you have tissue at the end._


End file.
